How can people and businesses overburdened by high accounting and compliance costs be helped? One promising possibility is the rise of artificial intelligence. Photo by mathisworks/Getty Images

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Statistics Canada’s “accounting services price index” (ASPI), newly updated with 2025 data, shows the price of accounting services rising less rapidly than the prices of most other things. Last year the ASPI rose 1.1 per cent, while the consumer price index (CPI) for all goods and services rose 2.1 per cent. Lower inflation for accounting services continued a longer-term trend: from 2010 to 2025, the ASPI rose 28.6 per cent, much lower than the 40.9 per cent increase in the total CPI.

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Not all consumers of accounting services benefited equally, however. Tax preparation for corporate clients was up only 20.8 per cent. The cost of audit, review and other assurance services rose 23.2 per cent. And bookkeeping, payroll, and general accounting services were up 34.7 per cent. But the price index for tax preparation services for individuals and unincorporated businesses rose 45.0 per cent — more than the overall CPI.

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Although the ASPI has grown more slowly than the CPI since 2010, that’s a recent development. The earliest year for which ASPI data is available is 1999. From then until 2010 it grew much more quickly than the CPI. Since 1999 the ASPI is up 90.0 per cent versus the CPI’s 76.7 per cent increase. And price inflation specifically for tax preparation for individuals and unincorporated businesses is up a staggering 141.3 per cent since 1999.

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Many Canadians try to avoid rising prices for accounting services by not using professional services. According to a 2024 Fraser Institute study, approximately 63 per cent of Canadians prepared their 2022 income tax returns themselves or had a friend, family member or volunteer do it. Only 37 per cent paid for professional services. But of course people’s preparation of their own or friends’ and family members’ taxes still has costs, even if they are not reflected in GDP or ASPI numbers. Time is money, as even non-accountants say. The Fraser Institute study estimated that total compliance costs associated with filing income tax returns for the 2022 tax year were about $4.2 billion.

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How can people and businesses overburdened by high accounting and compliance costs be helped? One promising possibility is the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). In February, the Financial Times reported that KPMG International, which co-ordinates the work of KPMG’s locally-owned partnerships around the world, warned its own auditor, Grant Thornton UK, that it would be switching auditors if its fees weren’t significantly lowered. KPMG argued, quite reasonably, that AI should be reducing audit costs and Grant Thornton should pass cost savings on to the customer. The result? KPMG managed to negotiate a 14 per cent reduction in its annual audit fee.

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Of course, in a statement to the Financial Times, KPMG gave no indication it would be making a similar reduction in fees to its own clients. Its explanation? Although AI can create efficiencies, it’s costly; other factors also influence audit pricing; and “when it comes to audit, AI’s most likely and most powerful impact will be to improve audit quality.” In essence: AI savings for me, but not for thee.